Toyota Motor Corporation president Akio Toyoda today announced a new mobility service business alliance at CES 2018, the global technology showcase in Las Vegas.

Mr Toyoda also revealed details of a new e-Palette concept vehicle, designed to meet the demands of future multi-mode transport and business applications.

He said: "The automobile industry is clearly amid its most dramatic period of change as technologies like electrification, connected and automated driving are making significant progress. Toyota remains committed to making ever better cars. Just as important, we are developing mobility solutions to help everyone enjoy their lives, and we are doing our part to create an ever-better society for the next 100 years and beyond.

"This announcement marks a major step forward in our evolution towards sustainable mobility, demonstrating our continued expansion beyond traditional cars and trucks to the creation of new values including services for customers."

The new e-Palette Alliance will leverage Toyota's proprietary Mobility Services Platform (MSPF) to develop a suite of connected mobility solutions and a flexible, purpose-built vehicle.

The alliance will create a broad-based ecosystem of hardware and software support designed to help a range of companies utilise advanced mobility technology to better serve customers.

In the near term, the Alliance will focus on the development of the new e-Palette concept vehicle, reflecting one of Toyota's visions for Automated Mobility as a Service (Autono-MaaS) applications. It is a fully-automated, next-generation battery electric vehicle designed to be scalable and customisable for a range of Mobility as a Service (MaaS) businesses. It also demonstrates Toyota's continued commitment to partnership and flexibility.

In addition to supporting the services provided through Toyota's MSPF, the e-Palette concept vehicle's open vehicle control interface and a set of software tools allow partner companies to install their own automated driving system and vehicle management technology. When a partner company's automated driving system is installed, Toyota's Guardian technology will act as a safety net to help ensure appropriate operation.

As an emerging provider of mobility hardware and services to business, Toyota is focused on creating new and attractive features for partners that help them expand their value chain and improve customers' lives.

The e-Palette Alliance will leverage the power of Toyota's MSPF to build a new ecosystem for mobility-powered businesses. Announced in 2016, the MSPF is Toyota's framework for a range of connected vehicle applications, providing a full suite of services needed to support MaaS ranging from vehicle leasing and insurance to fleet management and big data.

e-Palette Alliance service provider partners, including Amazon, DiDi, Pizza Hut, and Uber will explore various applications of the e-Palette Concept and the MSPF to support their existing business needs. DiDi, Mazda and Uber will also join as technology partners.

Toyota continues to discuss the creation of new mobility services with other service providers and technology development companies.

With the e-Palette Concept, Toyota has built a new approach to Autono-MaaS mobility that will empower Alliance partners to support their customers' lifestyles with increased convenience, productivity and efficiency.

The vehicle has an open interior layout, so it can be fitted out with purpose-built interiors to suit user needs, whether it be for parcel delivery, ride sharing or on-the-road e-commerce. Its adaptable framework is also designed to optimise usage, allowing the vehicle to be shared for various business needs, transitioning seamlessly from one application to another.

Toyota envisions that the e-Palette Concept will be offered in three sizes, so it can cater not just for need-specific applications, but also provide right-size and right-place mobile solutions.

In the future, e-Palette Alliance partners will be able to make use of the e-Palette Concept in co-ordination with the full range of MSPF services, or incorporate it into their own technology development programs. The vehicle's design reflects this commitment to flexibility and partnership, with an open control interface and a set of software tools that will allow partner companies to install their own automated driving system if desired.

Toyota plans to conduct feasibility testing of the e-Palette Concept in various world regions in the early 2020s. It also hopes to contribute to the success of the Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games in 2020 by providing innovative mobility solutions, such as the e-Palette.

Main Features

Extensive interior space with a low floor/cube shape design

There are three sizes of e-Palette, with lengths of between approximately four and seven metres, depending on the purpose-built specification. Thanks to a flat, extensive and barrier-free interior with a low floor, equipment can be installed in accordance with the user's needs, for example, ride sharing, hotel rooms or retail shopping. The model on display at CES measures 4,800mm long, 2,000mm wide and 2,250mm high.

Next generation vehicle control interface

Vehicle control technology is being used as an interface for technology providers. These providers can receive an open Application Programming Interface (API), such as vehicle state and vehicle control, necessary for developing automated driving systems (automated driving control software, cameras, sensors, etc). The e-Palette Concept also leverages the power of the MSPF to enable over-the-air updating of the automated driving systems.

MSPF-enabled

Vehicle information is gathered from the e-Palette Concept's Data Communication Module (DCM) and accumulated in the Toyota Big Data Center (TBDC) through a global communication platform. The e-Palette will capitalise on this vehicle information to support a variety of finance options, as well as high-level maintenance in co-operation with Toyota dealers. The API required by service providers, such as vehicle state and dynamic management, can be viewed on the MSPF.